Liverpool officials have flown out to Italy to try and conclude a deal with Inter for their Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho, according to Goal.com.
The Anfield club made an offer of around £6.5 million for Coutinho, 20, las week which was rejected by the Italian giants but are understood to be confident they can negotiate a deal, despite the player saying he is happy at Inter.
However, on Tuesday it emerged that they will face competition of Coutinho from Southampton, who have declared an interest in the Brazilian, and have the advantage their new coach Mauricio Pochettino, under whom the player thrived while on loan at Espanyol last season.
Inter are said to want closer to £10million for the highly regarded Coutinho, who has one cap for the Brazil national team, as they need to money to help ease the financial burden on the club.
Inter signed Coutinho from Vasco da Gama when he was just 16 years old, but he waited until he was 18 to move to Italy where he quickly became a favourite of the then Inter manager Rafa Benitez.
The midfielder then spent last season on loan in Spain with Espanyol before moving back to Inter in the summer, making 10 appearances since his return.
Source: Goal.com
